Nick Tumminello

Building Muscle and Performance by Nick Tumminello might possibly be the last book on weight training you ever need to buy. The author’s functional-spectrum training uses four different types of exercises to help you develop muscle, at the same time as you improve your overall health and increase your athletic capacity.

Each part of the book covers various aspects of training, from cardio conditioning, to workouts for all the different parts of the body, to the warm-ups and cool-downs to use. The last part of the book outlines some workout programs you can use, giving thorough looks at each one.

The exercise sections cover the upper body, the core, and the lower extremities. Many exercises are shown, along with both written directions for performing them, and photos illustrating the correct way to do each. You learn not only how to do the exercises, but why and how each will benefit you and help increase your athletic ability. Each exercise shows the setup, the action to perform, and includes some coaching tips as well. I found those very useful, especially as they tell you which way your knees should face, and what angle to hold the body, and other details that are important for preventing injury and performing the exercise correctly. The exercises incorporate tools like the medicine ball, kettlebells, heavy rope, barbells, superbands, stability balls, resistance bands, cables, and dumbbells. There are total body power exercises that can be done without gym equipment too. I liked those best since I don’t have access to a gym and all that fancy equipment!

The workout programs emphasize muscle, performance, or both. You can choose which one you want to follow. Each has a chapter dedicated to it. The programs are carefully designed to increase intensity as you go, so that you build up to it and don’t cause injury.

The last chapter tells you how to customize the workouts for your own personal needs or abilities. It details tips on how to deal with injury and not make things worse. It also has a section the author calls joint-friendly training. This section was most helpful to me, since I’ve got a neck injury. If you have had any knee or other joint injury, then don’t feel like you can’t benefit from this book. This chapter shows that all people move differently and have different levels of joint health (arthritis, etc.). So, the author provides some exercises that can be done that will avoid injuries to joints that may already have issues. The specific exercises he recommends workout other areas without damaging those joints.

I had a good impression of this book as a whole. The author is an expert in his field and it shows in his understanding and presentation of the material. His functional-spectrum training method can be used by anyone and it will increase your overall health, as well as help you build muscle. The science behind it is solid and is presented in the first chapter, where he also introduces the four types of exercises that make up the program. I thought the photos and diagrams were used well and complemented the text. Everything about the exercises was explained thoroughly and in easy-to-understand language. Even a reader like me, with no background in sports whatsoever, was able to understand it and see how to use the book to do all the exercises. I liked the fact that the author made sure to present information to people who are not muscle-bound hard-core gym rats, and spoke to a wider audience that includes newbies like me.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their overall health, and especially if you want to increase muscle and strength. It is easy to use and nicely illustrated so you won’t have any trouble learning the exercises from this book. It’s almost as good as if you had a coach standing there with you.… (altro)

I won this book on Goodreads’ First Reads giveaway. I loved this book because it has a ton of great information, but my biggest complaint is that the photos are in black and white. The photos do show both the starting and ending position of each exercise which I think encourages proper form. I would have given the book 5 stars, but they lose a star because of the B&W photos. It has a mixture of information for everyone from beginner to advanced so there’s something for everyone.

It starts with diagrams of your muscles and benefits of fat loss. It discusses benefits such as healthier joints, increased strength, better cardio conditioning, less stress, less anxiety and depression, better sleep and increased energy. I especially love that it talked about less anxiety and depression because it's often overlooked and I personally find exercise to be very beneficial in treating these issues.

There’s an introduction to metabolic strength training explaining exactly what it is. They discuss adjusting sets and reps explaining which method adds strength and which adds muscle. They have what they call "3 C’s of strength training for fat loss" which is strength training with circuits, complexes and combinations. They have separate chapters for each. There’s an entire chapter on nutrition, very important. There’s a chapter on body weight training, but the other exercises in other chapters of the book require either a machine or dumbbells. They offer both warm ups and cool downs for fat loss.

There are a lot of different workouts throughout the book including muscle-base, metabolic, body weight, fat loss, and they even have a workout called “At-home for beginners.” There are a lot of advanced exercises in this book, so this isn’t a book that you’ll outgrow quickly. The exercises in the workouts are grouped together as follows: upper body pull, upper body push, lower body legs, lower body hips, and abdominal/core. It’s great that they grouped them together this way because every experienced lifter knows not to use the same push and pull muscles two days in a row, so with their groupings, you avoid this.

At the end, they have a chapter called "training for life" where they give suggestions such as participating in other sports and taking up yoga. The workout schedules are in the back so you know what exercises to do each day and week. Overall, great book and worth reading.
… (altro)

Too often fitness books fall into one of two categories: the trendy quick-fix exercise program or the pumping iron master course. Those fly-by-night miracle cure books, so popular on the daytime talk show scene, are marketed toward the new-year’s resolution type: the person who has never stepped foot on a treadmill but is now determined to make up for a lifetime of bad habits in only a few short weeks thanks to the author’s patented magic diet/gym secret. They’re heavy on promises, but light on results. The other type of book relies too heavily on existing fitness knowledge and skill, using terminology and suggesting routines that seem to be written only for Mr. Olympia finalists. “Building Muscle and Performance” by Nick Tumminello is neither of those.

In his book, Tumminello masterfully walks that razor-thin line of writing for both the serious athlete and the layman. There are no “easy” exercises or quick-fixes in this book, as clearly evidenced on the cover which shows a man – bulging with muscles of comic book proportions – lifting more weight in one rep (with one hand) than I have cumulatively in my entire life. But while the cover may be “gymtimidating,” the inside of the book tells a different story. The exercises are serious enough to satisfy the most ardent gym rat, but are presented in a way that is accessible to the beginner. There are plenty of exercises in this book that can be done at home with minimal equipment, and enough advanced ones to help anyone take full advantage of their gym membership.

The important thing is that the illustrations accompanying every move show men and women of various shapes, sizes, and fitness levels performing them, proving that they are exercises that everyone can do with the proper weight and modifications. That accessibility also comes in no small part because of Tumminello’s clearly-written instructions that everyone can understand. He doesn’t just tell you the “how” of the exercise, he explains the “why,” which is essential to learning.

"Building Muscle and Performance" is heavy on functional fitness, which is the “performance” aspect of title. Rather than isolating single muscles for growth like many weight lifting manuals, it focuses on exercises that train your muscles to work together and prepare them for those movements that occur regularly in everyday life. Because of that, the schedules and routines laid out in this book will not only help you slim down, tone up, and build the muscles that everyone wants, it will improve your performance in all of your daily routines, from stacking boxes 9-5 in a warehouse to crushing the competition in your company softball league.

This book is written for anyone willing to put in hard work. No matter what your fitness goals, Tumminello gives you everything you need to succeed. He doesn’t give you a magic pill. He gives you functional tools. It’s up to you to use them. After 6-weeks of using them, I can personally attest that if you do, you’re guaranteed to see the results you’re looking for.… (altro)